About “Semi-Charmed Life”

Behind the catchy, upbeat “Semi-Charmed” melody that entranced many a tween when it was released in 1997 is a dark tale of a relationship’s descent into crystal meth addiction.

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What does the song sound like?

“Bright and shiny on the surface, and then it just pulls you down in this lockjawed mess … The music that I wrote for it is not intended to be bright and shiny for bright and shiny’s sake. It’s intended to be what the seductiveness of speed is like, represented in music.” -Stephan Jenkins

What have the artists said about the song?

TEB lead singer/co-writer has described the song as a San Francisco version of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side”, “a dirty, filthy song about snorting speed and getting blow jobs”, and says it is about “a life that’s all propped up. You know, the beautiful people who lead bright and shiny lives that on the inside are all fucked up.” Jenkins didn’t draw from personal experience with drug use, but instead his observations of friends who were “tapped out on speed.”